The present invention relates generally to communication and control systems for use in monitoring and controlling various systems and equipment in industrial environments. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and apparatus for providing communications between, and a distribution of a control voltage to, equipment and devices located in areas that are classified as hazardous due to the presence of explosive vapors or dust. Still more particularly, the invention relates to intrinsically safe monitors and to an intrinsically safe backlit monitor that can be located in class 1, division 1 locations.
At locations where oil or gas wells are being drilled, a number of flammable gases may be present, including mixtures of oxygen, methane, ethane, propane, hydrogen sulfide and others. Similar potentially dangerous environmental conditions exist in locations in which petroleum products are being recovered, refined or processed. Likewise, in industrial areas where large quantities of dust are present, such as in grain handling facilities or pulp and paper mills, hazardous environmental conditions may exist. Standardized classifications for the various types of hazardous locations have been adopted and assigned by regulatory agencies according to the nature and type of hazard that is generally present or that may occasionally be present.
Because electrical components, by their nature, may generate heat and sparks sufficient to ignite a flammable gas or other flammable mixture under even normal operating conditions, such components must be carefully selected and installed when used in an area that is classified as hazardous. More specifically, the components must exceed certain minimum standards as to such characteristics as power consumption, operating temperature, current and voltage requirements, and energy storage capabilities. These standards are also established by regulatory authorities and vary depending upon the particular hazardous environment.
Certain electrical devices are intrinsically safe. An intrinsically safe device may be generally described as a device that during normal operation, as well as operation during any fault condition, cannot cause a spark or achieve a temperature sufficient to ignite the gas or other substance that is present and that causes the area to be classified. If a device is not intrinsically safe, other means must be provided to ensure that the device cannot serve as a source of ignition. Typically where a device is not intrinsically safe, it may be made safe by housing it in an explosion proof enclosure, or by enclosing the device in some other type of enclosure and purging the enclosure with xe2x80x9ccleanxe2x80x9d air. An explosion proof box or enclosure is one that will prevent any explosion that might occur within the box from causing the atmosphere outside the box to ignite. Purging an enclosure with a continuing source of clean air prevents the air that is laden with the hazardous substance from entering the box, such that a spark or elevated temperature of the component within the box cannot ignite the hazardous atmosphere.
Although areas that are classified as hazardous are prevalent in many industries, the problems of powering and communicating with electrical devices in hazardous areas are particularly acute in the drilling industry. In drilling a well, a great deal of equipment is located in close proximity to the well head, including mud pumps, compressors, mud pits and other subsystems associated with drilling. Many of these areas around a drilling site are classified as hazardous, and thus special precautions are required with respect to the electrical communication and power distribution systems. To efficiently and safely control the drilling operation, the driller will require a system having sensors positioned in a number of locations in the hazardous area. These sensors will transmit needed data to a computer that can process that data and transmit important information to the driller by means of a driller""s console or monitor. By viewing the information on the driller""s monitor, the driller can then make whatever changes are appropriate to the system to assure safe and continuing operation.
The driller""s monitor is typically required to be very close to the well head and thus is located in a hazardous area. Historically, driller consoles have varied with respect to the amount of information displayed and type of indicators used. In the past, when a simple meter or gage provided all the information that was required, the device could sometimes be made intrinsically safe. However, due to the sophistication of today""s drilling practices, consoles or monitors usually must provide a driller with a tremendous amount of information concerning the location and orientation of the drill bit, the mud flow rates, downhole pressures, as well as the status of the other systems supporting the drilling operation. Additionally, the console must permit the driller to issue commands or make inquiries through the use of a keyboard or key pad, and must display all the needed information by means of a CRT or other sophisticated monitor. These modem driller""s consoles or monitors have a substantial power requirement that has prevented them from being made intrinsically safe, and that requires that they be housed in an explosion proof or a purged enclosure. Due to its size and extreme weight, an explosion proof enclosure is typically not practical for large consoles. Accordingly, is has been the usual practice to house today""s monitor in a purged enclosure.
There are several distinct and significant disadvantages associated with this conventional practice. First, purged air is typically supplied in a form that includes an oil mist that has been added to the system to assure proper operation of air compressors. The oil mist is both a nuisance and, over time, can have a detrimental effect on the electronic components. Additionally, and significantly, purge air has often proved to be unreliable due to various mechanical failures. When the purge air is lost, the system must automatically be shut down to avoid the possibility of ignition of flammable gases. The driller has a tremendous financial investment in the operation at the drilling site such that even a short shutdown is extremely costly.
Furthermore, purge air systems require the installation of piping from the air source to the monitor, and to other devices receiving the purged air. This investment is one that the driller would prefer not to make because it typically will be removing its equipment and personnel from the drilling site after a relatively short length of time. Thus the semi-permanent nature of installing pipe, the extra time involved in installing the piping, and the additional monitoring and backup equipment necessary to ensure the integrity of the purged air system are all costly additional investments the driller would prefer to avoid if an alternative was available.
In addition to the afore-mentioned issues, the visual displays for these driller""s monitors are typically LCD""s, which do not emit light and therefore depend on a separate light source for illumination. During daylight operation, there is typically enough ambient light to enable the driller to read the displayed information. At night, however, it becomes necessary to provide light from another source. This causes problems, as conventional light sources are not intrinsically safe, and intrinsically safe light sources tend to be large and cumbersome because they are purged or otherwise protected. Hence, successful nighttime use of monitoring systems in intrinsically safe environments is currently relatively impractical.
Additional drawbacks or compromises exist or are required in the conventional data acquisition systems currently used by drillers. As mentioned above, various sensors are positioned about the drilling site in hazardous locations. Electrical conductors, which provide power and a communication means to and from the sensors, are routed from each sensor to a junction box which is also located in the hazardous area. These junction boxes receive power from and communication signals to and from another box that is located outside the hazardous area and which includes an intrinsically safe barrier (ISB) for each of the sensors interconnected through that box. Conventional ISBs limit the current and voltage that is conducted to a sensor to ensure that the power reaching the sensor is not of a magnitude that might permit the device to ignite the atmosphere in the hazardous area. Using this conventional system, one ISB is required for each sensor. Accordingly, it is typical practice to interconnect each junction box with the box containing the ISBs by means of a relatively bulky and expensive multiconductor cable. Likewise, another multiconductor cable typically interconnects the box containing the ISBs to a computer or other central controller that is located outside the hazardous area.
For all of the foregoing reasons, installation of conventional monitoring equipment can be time consuming and difficult. In addition, the driller""s equipment is typically used sequentially in a number of separate jobs , with the result that it is installed, dismantled and reinstalled on a fairly frequent basis. Accordingly, running piping for purge air, routing and locating bulky and heavy multiconductor cables and conduits, and handling and installing heavy explosion proof enclosures and light sources is typically not practical and, at a minimum, undesirable.
Accordingly, despite the fact that there currently exist workable data acquisition systems for use in and about hazardous environments, there remains a need for safe, less cumbersome and low cost means for acquiring and manipulating data from the various sensors. More specifically, an illuminated display that includes an intrinsically safe light source is desired. The preferred illuminated display will overcome the disadvantages associated with having to provide cumbersome external light sources for nighttime monitoring in areas requiring intrinsically safe equipment.
Accordingly, there is provided herein an intrinsically safe date acquisition system for use in areas classified as hazardous due to the presence of ignitable vapors, dust or the like. The invention generally includes a master CPU box that is located outside the hazardous area for distributing power to the other system components. An intrinsically safe satellite box is located within the hazardous area for redistributing power to, and collecting signals from various sensors that are located in the hazardous area. The invention further includes an intrinsically safe console, including monitor, that is located within the hazardous area for communicating with the master CPU box. The intrinsically safe monitor includes an intrinsically safe backlighting system that permits nighttime monitoring without requiring any external light source. A barrier box is included in the system and located outside the hazardous area for receiving power from the master CPU box and safely redistributing the power to the intrinsically safe satellite box and console.
The intrinsically safe console preferably includes a monitor having a large format LCD screen and a data input device, such as a keypad or keyboard. The console includes an onboard micro-controller and communication circuitry allowing the operator using the console to communicate with the master CPU box, preferably via fiber-optic cable. Because of the low power requirements of the console, an explosion proof or purged housing or enclosure is not required. The console is intrinsically safe for Class 1, Division 1, Groups C and D, locations.
The satellite box of the present invention is an intrinsically safe data collection and processing center. The satellite box transmits power to the total of up to 10 analog and digital sensors. The box receives the signals from the sensors and converts them to digital form for transmission to the master CPU box via a single communication channel, preferably a fiber-optic conductor. The satellite box preferably includes an on-board CPU for converting the analog signals to digital, processing those signals, deriving calculated data, and transmitting that data outside the hazardous area. The box further includes signal conditioning means for the received analog and digital signals, as well as independent voltage regulating means for each sensor. The box is intrinsically safe for Class 1, Division 1, Groups C and D locations.
The present invention eliminates the need for expensive and heavy explosion proof enclosures for consoles and boxes that are to be located in hazardous areas. The invention also eliminates the need for installing permanent or semi-permanent piping for supplying purged air to such enclosures. Further, the invention permits an operator in the hazardous area to visually monitor a large amount of data and to effectively communicate with a master CPU box located outside a hazardous area. Furthermore, the local processing of data within the satellite box and transmitting that data via a single communication channel eliminates the need for bulky and expensive multi-conductor cables otherwise required for sending individual signals to the master CPU box outside the hazardous area. Additionally, the invention eliminates the previously existing problem of electrical noise being induced in the long, multiconductor cable runs, eliminates the number of intrinsically safe barriers traditionally required to safely operate a data acquisition system within a hazardous area, and further relieves the master CPU box from certain data processing duty.
Thus, the present invention comprises a combination of features and advantages which enable it to substantially advance the area of technology concerning data acquisition and communications within hazardous areas. These and various other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention and by referring to the accompanying drawings.